Child of Wands (Reversed)

i hate to count the things that save my life, part ii
by Erin Moran

by july i learn there’s no lightning bugs in california

and on the walk home i write a poem in my
head and count the ways i know to grieve:

one. the page’s birthday on the ferry, the
storm blowing away from us while we
bob at sea, her head in my lap, the
wrappers on the floor

two. that time when i was twelve and i first
learned what it means to let a lie leak just
enough to make a mess

three. my friends and all the ways we
eat from each other’s hands

Erin Moran (she/her) is a writer, poet, and tarot reader based in Philadelphia, on traditional, unceded Lenape lands. Moran is the author of two collections of poetry: back braces (Ghost City Press, 2019) and FIVE YEARS OF SEA-SICKNESS (Wide Eyes Publishing, 2020). She’s a Cancer sun with the biggest Gemini energy and she’ll never pass up a good laugh-cry. Find her journaling on the subway, working in the local bookstore, or singing love songs to her two orange cats.